# WireGuard review (2026): is it any good? > Free, open-source VPN protocol and tunnel software Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. WireGuard is free, open-source VPN software and protocol that connects two machines by exchanging public keys, much as SSH does. It started in the Linux kernel and now has implementations for Windows, macOS, BSD, iOS and Android. It is not a hosted service: you run it yourself, or use it through a VPN provider's app. - **Category:** VPNs - **Made by:** Jason A. Donenfeld (ZX2C4) and Edge Security - **Website:** https://www.wireguard.com - **Runs on:** Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a hosted VPN, as there are no provider servers. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, WireGuard is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** Free open-source software; the project accepts voluntary donations. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | WireGuard | $0 | Free software you set up and host yourself. The kernel components are GPLv2; other projects use MIT, BSD, Apache 2.0 or GPL licenses. | Read from https://www.wireguard.com/install/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with WireGuard before buying. ## Key features - **Key-based tunnels:** A connection is made by exchanging public keys between peers, and each peer lists the tunnel IP addresses it is allowed to send from. - **Modern cryptography:** Uses the Noise protocol framework, Curve25519, ChaCha20, Poly1305, BLAKE2, SipHash24 and HKDF. - **Small codebase:** Designed to be short enough for one person to review, in contrast to the larger IPsec and OpenVPN codebases, the project says. - **Roaming:** A connection can keep working as a peer's IP address changes. - **Wide platform support:** The install page lists Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and many Linux and BSD distributions, plus OpenWRT. ## Good for - Administrators who want to run their own VPN between machines - Developers embedding a VPN tunnel into other software - Anyone who wants the protocol many VPN providers also offer, directly ## Worth knowing - It is software, not a hosted VPN: there are no provider servers, and you supply the server and keys. - Key distribution and pushed configuration are outside its scope, so users, sign-in and policy need other tools. - The site says the project is under heavy development. - The macOS and iOS apps are installed from the App Store, and the Android app from Google Play or as an APK. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. WireGuard is free, open-source VPN software that connects two machines by swapping public keys. It is not a service: you bring the server and the keys, and it leaves user sign-in and policy to other tools. - **Value for money: C.** Free to download, but there are no provider servers, so you pay for a server of your own. Software that is only free if you host it yourself is a C. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Free outright, with donations asked for. The software has no plan or cap. - **Features: C.** Key-based tunnels with a small codebase. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller job: key distribution and pushed configuration are outside its scope. - **Ease of use: D.** No rating on record, and setup is on you: keys, a server and config files, usually from a command line. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, though the listing names no API or integrations. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from WireGuard's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among VPNs - WireGuard's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 22 of the 50 other VPNs we grade, and level with 8. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 43 of 50) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - WireGuard has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/vpn ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** WireGuard is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. - You could not: Servers in dozens of countries, kept fast and private. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## What people say - **App Store rating of the iPhone and iPad app:** 4.3 out of 5 from 1,043 ratings in the United States, read Nov 13, 2026. This is the store's rating of the app, not a score from ToolGPA. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1441195209 **Tags:** VPN, Open source ## Alternatives - [OpenVPN](https://toolgpa.com/tools/openvpn): Open-source VPN protocol plus business VPN products built on it. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/openvpn-vs-wireguard) - [SoftEther VPN](https://toolgpa.com/tools/softether-vpn): Free multi-protocol VPN server and client from a Japanese university. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/softether-vpn-vs-wireguard) - [Firezone](https://toolgpa.com/tools/firezone): WireGuard-based zero-trust remote access for teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/firezone-vs-wireguard) - [Outline VPN](https://toolgpa.com/tools/outline-vpn): Open-source software for running your own VPN server. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/outline-vpn-vs-wireguard) - [Mullvad VPN](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mullvad): Flat-rate Swedish VPN with anonymous numbered accounts. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mullvad-vs-wireguard) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.wireguard.com - https://www.wireguard.com/install/ - https://www.wireguard.com/donations/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/wireguard Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).